Columbus Dance Theatre to debut holiday ballet at Riffe Center Dec. 18
When Columbus Dance Theatre directors Seth Wilson and Jaime Kotrba Wilson were thinking up ideas for a new holiday ballet, they came up with the title first and the story second.
Then Kotrba Wilson, the company’s executive director, hit on a word: “wonderment.”
“I had ideas of what it would look like, just thinking about wonder — wonderment in general, childhood wonderment, innocence and purity, and that kind of thing,” Kotrba Wilson said.
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The all-new ballet “Wonderment” — co-choreographed by the Wilsons, who are married — will debut Dec. 18 at the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre. The show will feature the company’s 10 professional dancers, plus about 75 students from the company’s school.
The show will replace the Columbus Dance Theatre’s long-running holiday ballet “Matchgirl,” which debuted in 2000 and was retired following its last performance in 2019. No live performances of any kind took place last season because of the pandemic.
“(‘Matchgirl’) is a beautiful ballet, but we thought that maybe a new production, with the new directors, might be in store,” said Kotrba Wilson, who, with her husband, began running the company in 2018. Seth Wilson is the company’s artistic director.
The Wilsons knew that they wanted a holiday ballet that spoke to audiences from all backgrounds, not only those who celebrate Christmas.
“We wanted to create a story that incorporates everyone around the holiday season,” said Seth Wilson. “That’s what ‘Wonderment’ represents — a holiday story, not just a Christmas story.”
There are parallels between the old and new productions: “Matchgirl” and “Wonderment” are both based on works by Hans Christian Andersen. “Matchgirl” is drawn from “The Little Match Girl,” while “Wonderment” builds on the plot of “The Snow Queen.”
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In Columbus Dance Theatre’s telling, “Wonderment” centers on the travails of Young Gerda and Young Kai, played by student dancers Sophia Spiess and Sincere Rose-Cohen, respectively.
“They are best friends and grow up in this town together with their grandmothers,” Kotrba Wilson said.
Then the Snow Queen (played by company member Erika Alloway) enters the picture: She kidnaps Kai.
“Gerda searches for him in the whole second act,” said Kotrba Wilson, adding that the ballet features a bevy of other memorable characters, including an Evil Magician (Brennan Johnson), a Prince (Luke Ciminillo Delamotte) and a Princess (Katey Liu).
The Wilsons will dance in the “Northern Lights” segment of the ballet.
“Seth and I will do a little bit of apas de deux,” Kotrba Wilson said. “It’s kind of like the nowhere land, or the buffer land, as we guide (Gerda) to the Snow Queen’s castle.”
Music by Russian composer Alexander Glazunov will be performed live by Converging Arts Columbus, an ensemble directed by conductor Jason Hiester that will feature 18 string players and two pianists.
The directors view the debut of “Wonderment” as a big first step in returning to annual holiday ballets.
“I feel like this is the pilot year,” Seth Wilson said. “It’s only going to get better from here. Right now, the orchestra is pretty small; this year, our company is pretty small. But again, it’s kind of like a hump year.”
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Kotrba Wilson said the company plans to add more scenery and costumes in future productions of “Wonderment,” which, it is hoped, will become an annual offering.
In the meantime, Seth Wilson said the company and students are excited about returning to live performing, and optimistic that Greater Columbus can, now and in the future, accommodate a holiday ballet not called “The Nutcracker.”
“There’s always more than one holiday movie, you know?” Seth Wilson said. “I think there’s room.”
At a glance
Columbus Dance Theatre will perform “Wonderment” at 3 and 8 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre, 77 S. High St. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test required. Patrons are encouraged to use the Bindle check-in app. Tickets cost $27, or $22 for senior citizens, $14 for students. For more information, visit www.capa.com.
Read More: Columbus Dance Theatre to debut holiday ballet at Riffe Center Dec. 18